Gov.: Snow removal 'will take a long time'

Central Massachusetts residents began digging out Saturday from a historic snowfall that dumped 28.7 inches of snow on Worcester and left most streets deserted except for snowplows.

Gov. Deval Patrick lifted a state of emergency at 4 p.m. Saturday that had banned most drivers from the roads, but he urged people to remain home if possible to allow crews to clear snow.

“We have a lot of snow to dispose of and remove, and it will take a long time to do that,” Mr. Patrick said during a news conference.

Many of the tragedies and challenges typically associated with snowfall failed to materialize during the storm that began Friday and swirled into Saturday. Utilities reported few power outages in Central Massachusetts, and police and fire authorities around Worcester County said the day was quiet. Worcester firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze overnight Friday on Pleasant Street, but no one was injured.

The most dramatic moment of the storm may have been the birth of Nohely Gonell, who arrived unexpectedly at 3:17 a.m. Saturday and was delivered at home in Worcester because her parents could not reach a hospital. Worcester paramedics with a National Guard escort made it to Ericka Bueno's Vernon Hill home in time to help deliver the baby and later took the healthy girl, her mother, and her father, Joel Gonell, to UMass Memorial Medical Center — Memorial Campus.

The storm's inch-count, measured by the National Weather Service at Worcester Regional Airport, stood at 28.7 inches at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and constituted Worcester's third-largest snowstorm on record. The city measured its largest snowfall of 33 inches on March 31 and April 1 in 1997, a weather system that became known as the April Fools' storm. In comparison, the well-remembered Blizzard of '78, a February 1978 weather system, dropped 20.2 inches of snow on Worcester, according to the National Weather Service. It was basically remembered for all the stranded motorists who couldn't make it home.

It may be two days before weather officials confirm that the storm met the standards of a blizzard, which is defined as a system with sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more and considerable snow.

Worcester City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said he was pleased with overall conditions in the city but cautioned that more cleanup work lies ahead.

“We have had over 28 inches of snow and even deeper in areas of drifts and have experienced wind gusts in excess of 50 mph,” he wrote in an email. “Our main streets, secondary streets and residential roads are passable, our electric grid is intact, and our emergency services have been able to traverse the city and respond to all 911 calls throughout the storm.”

The cost of Worcester's cleanup could reach $2 million, according to Mr. O'Brien. The city recently moved $1 million into a contingency fund for storm response but funds still may be inadequate for winter storm costs, he said. Last winter, the city budgeted $3.5 million for snow removal and spent slightly more than that, he said.

The snowstorm mostly left the lights on in Central Massachusetts. Electric utility National Grid counted 28 customers without power in Worcester Saturday morning. By Saturday night, all Worcester outages were resolved, according to National Grid's online outage center. Webster, which had 198 outages Saturday morning, the most in National Grid's territory in Central Massachusetts, was connected again last night.

Convoys of utility trucks drove the Massachusetts Turnpike through Central Massachusetts Saturday, heading toward more badly stricken areas on the South Shore.

In North Central Massachusetts, utility Unitil Corp. shut down its emergency operations centers at noon and said outages had been limited.

Today is expected to bring sunny skies and a high of 33 degrees in Worcester, followed by a low temperature of 15 degrees tonight. Worcester sent its snow-removal crews home Saturday night to rest but will direct them back out on the streets today for more plowing, scraping, sanding and salting.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority, which suspended operations during the storm, is expected to begin operation again today. The Worcester Public Library and the Worcester Common ice skating rink are scheduled to open, too.

Parking will remain prohibited on even-numbered sides of streets until further notice. But trash and recycling programs are expected to follow their normal schedules next week.

Worcester Public Schools will determine Monday's school status by 5 p.m. Sunday and post messages on its website at www.worcesterschools.org, on Twitter at @worcesterpublic and on Facebook.

For those looking for help digging out, Veterans Inc. in Worcester offered to connect people to veterans who could provide snow shoveling services.

“We have available vets,” said Chris LePage, a residential adviser at the veterans' service agency on Grove Street. “We'll just expedite them to help out.” The number to call is (508) 791-1213.